


Alluring Secret - Black Vow

by shatteredcrystalwings



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Abusive Relationships, F/F, F/M, Fallen Angels, Historical, Implied/Referenced Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-03
Updated: 2012-09-03
Packaged: 2018-01-04 03:50:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1076209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shatteredcrystalwings/pseuds/shatteredcrystalwings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When an angel falls from grace, she's taken in by a woman with entrancing eyes. As she finds herself growing more and more drawn to the woman however, she learns that things aren't as peaceful as they initially seem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alluring Secret - Black Vow

**Author's Note:**

> Based off the song of the same name. I've changed all the names to try to keep them a bit more setting-appropriate. I plan to eventually lengthen and greatly revise this, especially since I was rushed into writing the last third of it in one day, but for the time being it is what it is.

 

_  
My dear, lying cold_

_I will spend all my life for you as I swore on that day…_

_My sin against God…_

_All my acts of treachery should be paid by my death,_

_So I will die for you…_

_I believe that's my fate._

* * *

"Oh my! Are you alright?" the teal haired woman exclaimed as she rushed to aid a girl who was lying crumpled in the street.

At the words, the girl raised her head, propping herself up with her left hand, her right shoulder throbbing slightly from the fall. Her eyes widened slightly, unconsciously, as her gaze came to rest on the face of the woman who had called out to her. She was beautiful, with eyes like the sky.

"Here, let me help you up," spoke the woman, offering her hand, "I'm Isabelle, by the way."

The girl felt her cheeks heat slightly before she answered. "Eryn… My name's Eryn. Ow…" she cringed. She had reached out her hand to grasp the woman's, Isabelle's, forgetting that she'd hit it.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Isabelle apologized, looking flustered, "I didn't realize you were hurt…!"

"No, that's alright. It only hurts a little," she lied, doing her best to keep a calm expression as she was helped to her feet.

"That's an interesting outfit," Isabelle commented, looking Eryn up and down once they were both standing. Looking down at herself, Eryn realized just how different their two outfits were. She herself was dressed in short white shorts with silver chains acting as a belt, long white boots that reached to her thighs, and a sleeveless vest and top that only came down to the bottom of her ribs with a tie, again all white. Isabelle, on the other hand, was donning a long black dress with a billowing skirt, accented by long gloves of the same fabric, which, in comparison to the other passersby, looked quite expensive. As well as that was a black lace rose in her hair that stood in stark contrast to the light hair colour.

As she was looking at those around her though, Eryn realized just what it was that the woman probably found so fascinating about her, as it appeared that no one else here seemed to have them. Protruding from her back on either side of her spine was a pair of feathery wings which reached out to around her arm length. "It's… what people wear where I'm from," she stated as explanation, not lying but now feeling very out of place.

"Oh. Where are you from?"

"Somewhere far away. It takes quite a long time to get there," she answered, chucking quietly to herself, "I turned down a proposal the other day, so I just wanted to get away for a while. It wasn't that I didn't like the guy, I just thought of him too much as a friend, you know?"

"Well, do you have a place to stay? If not, you're welcome to stay with me," Isabelle said, starting to turn away.

"Really? That'd be great!" Without another word, the two women began walking.

* * *

"This is delicious!" Eryn exclaimed as she sipped at the stew she'd been given.

"Oh, please!" Isabelle said bashfully, "I'm terrible at cooking…"

"No, no! This is all wonderful." The meal was nothing special really, a simple stew and salad made with vegetables grown in a small garden in front of the house and some bread they'd bought at a bakery on their way there. There was something really special about it though. Quite possibly it was only due to the simplicity of it all that it seemed so amazing. Eryn was used to constantly being surrounded by lavish food back home, so it was nice to just have a little homemade meal for once.

As she was just about to start on the salad though, her thoughts were interrupted by a brisk knock on the door which Isabelle hurried to answer. "Adam!" Eryn heard her exclaim as the door squeaked open, "What are you doing here?"

"I just thought I'd make sure you were being good," a suave voice that sounded like that of a young man replied. As the words were spoken, heavy footsteps could be heard walking in the direction of the kitchen where Eryn sat. A few seconds later, a handsome man appeared in the doorframe. "And who's this now?" he questioned suspiciously before Eryn could introduce herself.

"This is Eryn," Isabelle explained rushing back into the room, "She's from out of town, so I offered to house her for a few days."

"So you just let a random person in off the street?" he snarled, surprising both women, "Look at the way she's dressed! I'm not sure whether to think she's a wench or a circus attraction!"

"Adam!"

"Not to mention that you still insist on living in this dump. Why are you so against living with me?"

"I happen to like it here, thank you very much! I'd prefer to stay while I still can!"

Before another word could be uttered, a loud slap resounded and, the next thing Eryn knew, Isabelle hit the wall with a disturbingly loud thump. The nervous guest jumped out of her chair and rushed over to her collapsed friend.

"Don't you dare talk back to me!" Adam yelled, "I'll let you off with just a warning for now, but trust me, things are going to change after the wedding!" With that, the man stormed away, slamming the front door behind him.

"Are you alright?" Eryn asked, helping Isabelle up just as the woman had done for her only a few hours earlier.

"Yeah… Fine." Her voice was surprisingly calm, but the tears resting on the edge of her eyelashes told Eryn that she should let the subject drop. For now at least.

* * *

That night, a soft knock resonated from the door to the room Eryn had borrowed. "Are you awake?" Isabelle's voice called from the other side.

"Yeah, come on in," she answered, setting down the book she'd been reading as the door opened.

"Sorry to intrude," Isabelle apologized as she walked over to sit on the side of the bed, "What were you reading?"

"Just a book I found downstairs, but I seem to be at a boring part. Did you want to talk about something?"

"I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Oh, no! If anyone should be apologizing, it's me! I'm the one who's intruding after all."

"You're not the one at fault. I'm the one who invited you to stay here, knowing full well that Adam would likely get mad if he found out."

For a moment, both were quiet before Eryn finally broke the silence, "…So that was your fiancé?"

"Unfortunately… The wedding's only four days away, too…"

"You don't love him?"

"How could I? You were there earlier; you saw what he's like."

"Then why are you engaged? Couldn't you just call it off?"

"It's an arranged marriage. My parents are forcing me into it since his family is rich. I can't imagine why he'd agree to it though. I hardly have the money to keep this house, what would he gain from marrying me?"

As Eryn looked at Isabelle, she had no trouble guessing the reason. She was even more beautiful than she'd originally appeared. As well as being incredibly thin without it seeming unhealthy, she had gorgeous teal hair with a braid on either side which, now that it was down Eryn could see reached all the way down to her hips, but had earlier been done up quite nicely in a fancy up-do. It was certainly much different from her own short, blond hair. The most attractive thing by far though was probably her face, which wore the kindest expression Eryn had ever seen.

Admiring her companion, Eryn found herself developing a sudden urge to… No, she couldn't. Isabelle was engaged after all, it would be wrong to act on that urge. "So… did you get that dress from Adam?" she questioned, more for the purpose of distracting herself than from genuine curiosity.

"Correct. He decided that since I'm to marry into his family, I should dress well as to not embarrass him. I hate wearing the things though. I feel like everyone's staring at me when I do." Again the two became silent, neither knowing what to say until Isabelle finally got up to leave, stopping in the doorway only to say, "Thanks for listening to me. I wish I could be engaged to someone more like you. Sleep well."

Despite this request, Eryn found herself lying in the bed awake until late thinking about Isabelle's statement before she had left, trying to unravel her jumbled thoughts.

* * *

 

"Isabelle?" Eryn called, walking down the narrow stairs. She hadn't been able to find the woman upstairs, which worried her some. When she entered the kitchen though, she found something that eased her mind. Written in elegant cursive was a note sitting on the table which explained that Isabelle had gone out only a few minutes earlier to get some food for breakfast.

As she pondered on what to do while she waited for her friend's return, a sudden notion crossed her mind and she started back up the stairs. She wanted to know more about Isabelle and she assumed that the best place to start looking would likely be in the woman's room. She didn't plan to pry into anything personal of course, just see what kind of books were there and such.

Opening the door to the room slowly, she looked around the room. It was surprisingly similar to the room that Eryn herself had stayed in. The only noticeable differences seemed to be a small shelf filled with what looked like journals and a relatively small wooden box in the middle of the bedside table. The journals intrigued her to no end, but she felt like that would be an invasion of privacy so instead she opted for the box.

It looked like it was an automatically locking one, however, luck was apparently in her favour as it seemed it hadn't been shut fully so when she tried it, it opened with no trouble. The bottom of the box itself seemed to be covered in a red cushion, on top of which, neatly set in the middle, was an envelope, obviously lying on something heavier. Gently lifting it, she almost let it slip from her fingers as she saw what was under it.

A gun.

It was a small pistol, no bigger than Eryn's hand. Her fingers shaking slightly, she flipped open the flap of the envelope and pulled a slip of paper out of it, quickly running her eyes over the writing scrawled in the same style as what had been on the note in the kitchen.

When she saw what was written, she felt the world spin slightly as her legs collapsed under her.

She now knew the purpose of the gun.

In her trembling hands, Eryn held Isabelle's suicide note, which explained that she was planning to take her own life of the night of the wedding. The only reason she was waiting until then, it read, was in the vain hope that by some miracle she would find a way out of her engagement. That someone would save her.

Replacing the letter so that it looked as close to it originally had as she could recall, she closed the box so that the lid was resting on the lock like it had been before. With that done, she rushed down the stairs and out the door.

"Excuse me," she hurriedly asked a woman who was working in the garden next door, "You didn't see where the woman who lives in this house went, did you?"

"Oh, she left with that man of hers 'round about a half hour ago. I think I heard the fellow mention something about looking at a dress."

A thank you barely escaped her lips by the time she was off running towards the shopping district where she'd met Isabelle only the day before. Once there, she began running into dress shops to no avail until the only one remaining was a posh looking wedding boutique that she'd purposely skipped, hoping for it to be anywhere else. Trying to regain her ragged breath, she slowly, reluctantly stepped through the frosted glass door.

She was there. A few meters from the door, facing away from Eryn, stood Isabelle accompanied by that man. Before them, on a mannequin, was a beautiful and very expensive looking wedding dress. Oddly though, the dress was black.

It was as she stood there, motionless, that Eryn realized that she had no idea what she should be doing. She wanted to get Isabelle away from Adam, but how? He was likely stronger and she didn't have any sort of weapon on her, so she probably couldn't beat him in a fight. All she knew was that she wanted to get Isabelle away from that man. She wanted to be the person standing there next to her.

Unable to do anything, but reluctant to leave, she just stood there, looking at her feet.

"Eryn?" At the sound of her name, she raised her head to see that the pair she'd been watching only moments ago were now turned towards her, a look of surprise apparent on Isabelle's face and annoyance evident on Adam's. "What are you doing here?" Isabelle asked nervously.

"…Can I talk to you?" Eryn said after a moment, ignoring the question.

Rather than answering for herself, Isabelle looked up at Adam. "Fine," he replied begrudgingly, "You have five minutes."

Slowly, Isabelle walked towards Eryn until she was about a foot in front of her. "Come," she said quietly, "Let's talk outside."

The two women walked out the door, probably still visible through the windows, but at least their conversation wouldn't be heard by those inside. "Why don't you run away?" Eryn asked, her eyes locked on Isabelle's.

"What…?"

"You're scared of him, right? So why don't you just leave? Go somewhere where he can't hurt you."

"You think I haven't tried? He sent out his servants as soon as he found out last time. It's impossible on foot and I have no other means of transportation."

"I'll help you!"

"No. Adam already dislikes you. If you try to help me you could end up dead, knowing him."

"I'd like to see him try. I'm a bit more resilient than a human you know."

"Than a… Hold on… Just what do you think you are, Eryn?"

"What? I'm an angel. I expected you to have figured that out already…" Saying this, she glanced behind her and gave her wings a small flap.

"You're a… what? Are you insane!?" Isabelle yelled, pushing Eryn away without thinking.

"You… You don't believe me…?"

"No, of course not! Even if you're just trying to protect me, you're taking this too far! You can't just expect someone to believe you're an angel just because of those fake wings you wear! I don't know what sort of contraption those are to be able to move like that, but I can't believe they're real."

"But… I just don't want to see you hurt…"

"Why do you care so much anyway?"

"Because… Because I love you…" she murmured, and as she said it she realized that it was true. They'd only met the day before, but already Eryn found herself wanting to do whatever she could just to see Isabelle smile, wanting to be with her at every chance she got.

"You…" Upon hearing her friend's confession, she took a nervous step back, her hands rising to cover her mouth in shock. "No… I don't… I don't…" She stuttered, burying her face in her hands. When she looked up again, Eryn had disappeared, a single white feather in her place. "I don't know what to think…"

* * *

_I'm such an idiot…_  Eryn thought, tears falling from her eyes as she leaned against the wall of an alley that bordered the bridal store.  _What was I thinking? Even if she loved me in return, angels are forbidden from falling in love with a human…_  With this thought weighing on her mind, she began walking to nowhere in particular.

* * *

"What were you doing?" Adam growled when Isabelle came back into the shop.

"I don't know what you're talking about. You said five minutes, it's been five minutes," she defended herself, trying to keep her voice even despite the fear she felt.

"I don't like you hanging around that freak. I won't allow you to see her again. God, first insisting your wedding dress be black, and now this!"

" _What_? That 'freak', as you so quaintly put it, happens to be my friend! And you have no right to tell me who I can see or not!" It might have been in response to Eryn's own bravery a moment ago, but suddenly she felt as though she could stand up to Adam. He was just a person after all. What could he do to her that he hadn't already done?

"Quiet! That's no way to talk to your husband!" he roared.

"You're not my husband! Not yet! And if I had any say in the matter, you never would be!" As soon as the words were out of her mouth she wished she could take them back. Before she could say anything more, he grabbed her wrist and started pulling her to the door, glaring nervously at the people staring at them. Once outside, he forced her into the privately owned hansom carriage that he'd insisted they use to get there earlier.

"I wouldn't say such things if I were you…" he snarled, slamming the door behind him before knocking on the front to signal for the driver to get the thing moving.

"What do you think you're doing!?" she cried.

"Teaching you some manners."

From the outside of the carriage, all the driver heard were muffled screams.

* * *

Hours later, after having not stopped walking since that morning, Eryn looked around to find herself standing once again in front of Isabelle's house. It was already dark out, yet there were no lights on as far as she could see. Isabelle must've either gone to sleep already or she was still out.

Standing there, watching the wind play with the tree branches, she remembered whisperings she'd heard long ago. There had been a rumour that if an angel wanted to return to being human, they had to sell their soul to the devil, but there was no going back on the deal. Once the angel died in their human body, their soul would simply disappear rather than rising to heaven again or falling to hell. The rumour had been quieted quickly though, so there had never been any proof that it had been more than just that – a rumour.

Slowly, she started up the walk and, trying the door, she was surprised to find it unlocked. She quietly made her way in and began climbing the stairs, grimacing every time one creaked, until she reached the door to Isabelle's room where she opened the door, barely daring to breath. Seeing Isabelle sleeping soundly in the bed, she tiptoed across the room until she reached the box from earlier, its lid still sitting unlocked as she had left it.

Part of that rumour about angels selling their souls to the devil had included  _how_  to do it. The uncertainty of whether or not it actually worked though had stopped many from trying it. It was that the angel had to physically destroy their own heart.

With the hope that it would work, Eryn picked up the gun out of the box and shut it, making sure the lock clicked this time, pressing the barrel against her chest. Looking one last time at Isabelle, she noticed that the girl's eyes were red, as if she'd been crying.  _I promise… If this works, I'll make sure that you never have to cry again…_  With that final thought, she screwed her eyes shut and pulled the trigger.

* * *

Isabelle started awake as a loud bang echoed through the room. Sitting up quickly, the blanket falling into her lap, she turned her head to look at the bedside. For a moment she thought she'd seen Eryn there, surrounded by whirling feathers, but when she blinked the illusion disappeared.

_A dream…?_  she asked silently, putting her weight on her hand as she started to lay back down, only to stop, cringing. Looking down at her wrist, she wasn't surprised to see a dark, hand shaped bruise from when Adam pulled her into the carriage.

Remembering the events of that time, she realized that tears were streaming down her cheeks. "I'm sorry…" she whispered, hugging her arms around herself, "I'm so sorry…!"

* * *

"You look wonderful, Miss Isabelle," the seamstress complimented as she buttoned the back of the wedding dress.

"Thank you," the bride-to-be replied, adjusting a long black glove nervously, worried that someone would someone would see the bruise. It was already the day of the wedding, seeming to have come sooner than expected. She hadn't even seen Eryn since the bridal shop, which worried her. Thinking of Eryn though, she remembered the illusion she'd seen the other night. It had felt too realistic to be a mere dream, but what else could it have been?

Slowly, she started for the church from the building next door where she'd been dressed, but as she walked through a courtyard something caught her eye. Standing in the shadow of a tree a few meters away was a young man dressed in brown dress clothes, his short blond hair pulled into a high ponytail as he smiled at her with mournful eyes. Seeing this, she paused, puzzled by the strange familiarity she sensed in him. "Hello," he said suddenly, causing her to blush, "It's nice to see you again."

"Do… I know you?" she questioned hesitantly, not wanting to seem rude but unable to remember who he was.

"Not at all," he said, still smiling as he began walking towards her slowly, "My name is James. It's nice to meet you, Isabelle."

"How…? No, forget it. Nice to meet you."

"So… What are you dressed up like that for…?" he asked slowly, as if he didn't want to.

"Oh, I'm getting married today."

"You must be happy then."

"Hardly, I hate the man," she replied honestly, not wanting to lie to him for some reason.

" _Isabelle_!" The two whipped around at the sound of the call to see Adam storming towards them, "You were supposed to be in the church by now! What the hell are you doing?"

"Speak of the devil…" she whispered.

"No," she heard James mutter, "The devil's far worse than this bastard…" Shocked, she turned to see him seething. "You don't want to marry this guy, right?" he asked quietly, to which she simply shook her head in response. "Then come with me."

Without another word, he grabbed her hand and ran, pulling her after him as she felt the veil on her head fall away. "Where are we going?" she called as Adam screamed something behind them.

"I have a carriage waiting for us a block over. We'll keep travelling until we reach somewhere where he can't find you."

"But what about my things? I don't have anything with me!"

"Not to worry! I stopped by your house an hour ago and picked up everything you might need."

"Who  _are_  you?"

And this, he simply turned his head to look back at her and smiled. "A friend."

* * *

"I'll let you take the room. I'm fine with just the chesterfield," James voiced as the two stepped into the hotel room where they'd decided to spend the night. The two had travelled by horse and carriage for hours until they'd arrived in a town they agreed to stay in just as the sun neared the horizon.

At James' urging, Isabelle picked up her suitcase, turning down his offer to carry it for her, and walked to the bedroom door, shutting it tightly behind her.

* * *

"I made some tea," James called through the door a while later, carrying the heavy tin tray as he opened the door with difficulty, "I thought it might help you relax." The moment he looked up though, he froze. On the other side of the room, Isabelle was just undressing, her suitcase open and a more casual outfit lying on the bed. "P-pardon me!" he exclaimed, flushing heavily as he started to close the door, forgetting about the tea he was holding until it slipped from his grip, crashing to the floor, the cups and pot shattering.

Hunching over quickly, he hurriedly began picking up the shards, tossing them back onto the tray when another hand suddenly appeared to help him. He looked up instinctively, his face red, only to see that she had wrapped herself in a blanket as she stared expressionlessly at her work. "I'm sorry," he apologized again, "I should have knocked first."

"Don't worry about it. It's my own fault for not locking it," she assured, still not looking up at him. "You're such a nice guy," she said suddenly, "I don't know why, but I really feel like I can trust you."

"Thank you," he replied, leaning forward to pick up a piece from beside her thigh. In doing this though, he noticed a yellowing bruise on her ankle and, after pausing for a moment, he realized that it was in the shape of a hand print. "Where did you get that…?"

Apparently realizing what he was referring to, Isabelle quickly slapped her hand over the bruise, hiding her eyes beneath her teal bangs as she replied, "It's nothing."

This however, caused the blanket to fall down slightly on that side, revealing to him more bruising around her shoulder and forearm, all in the shape of equally sized hands. "…Take off the blanket."

"What…?" She looked shocked, scared even, her eyes wide and pleading.

"Where else did he hurt you? Please, I want to know."

After a moment of hesitation, she slowly stood as he followed her lead by doing the same, allowing the blanket to slip away. She was dressed in audacious red and black lingerie which Adam had assumedly forced her to wear under the wedding dress considering James didn't remember putting it in the suitcase, her long hair framing her small figure, making her look fragile. He was shocked at the damage apparent on her, her entire body covered in bruising, some hand prints like the ones James had noticed but others just formless splotches. Judging from the intensity of many of them, it was obvious that Isabelle had put up a fair bit of a fight.

He didn't have to guess what had been done to her anymore; the placement of the bruising made that much painstakingly apparent. "He… he raped you…?" James said, almost in a whisper, forming it into a question in the hope that maybe he'd misunderstood.

"Please make me forget…" He raised his eyes from her discoloured body to see that she was staring at him, her own eyes swimming with sad, ashamed tears. "I know we haven't known each other for very long, but I already love you more than I ever did him. Please, I just want to forget…"

"I don't think that'd be a good-" 

"Please! I just... I just..." Quiet tears started flowing from her eyes, falling to the floor where they bounced off a few of the remaining porcelin shards.

After a moment, he took a slow step forward, then another, until he was standing just in front of her. Putting his hands gently on her shoulders, he quietly whispered the single word "okay". He raised a hand and used his thumb to gently wipe away the tears from on cheek and then the other. Eyes still swimming with tears, she closed her eyes softly as he leaned forward to press his lips to her own.

The kiss deepened, becoming more passionate, more desperate. His hands searched her body with a softness that seemed almost heavenly in comparison to what she had known in the past. 

When the two fell asleep in each others' arms much later, she had found herself wrapped in a happiness that she'd almost forgotten existed.

* * *

"I promise you, no matter what happens, I won't let anyone come to harm you again," James promised as he and Isabelle sat on the side of the bed the next morning, their thighs lightly touching. "I will protect you with my life if need be." As he said this, he pulled a small ring out of his pants pocket and held it up so she could see it. "This is my oath."

It wasn't an expensive looking ring or even a very traditional one, just a band of braided metal with a flower of the same metal resting on it, its petals painted white. A daisy.

"It's lovely…" Isabelle breathed, eyes wide as she looked at it.

Gently, he picked up her left hand and gently slipped it onto the third finger, "If you don't mind, I'd like you to wear it. As a sign of my vow."

"Of course," she whispered, intertwining her own fingers with his.

"Thank you."

* * *

"Why don't I go get us some drinks?" James suggested, getting to his feet. The two had been sitting on the ground in a park a few blocks from the hotel they'd stayed in the night before, just talking about whatever they felt like, enjoying each other's company.

Once he'd left, Isabelle raised her hand to smile down at her ring, running her finger along the smooth petals.

"That ring…!" At the sound of a voice she didn't recognize, she turned her head to see a man dressed in an oddly familiar outfit. "It's you…" he continued, "You're the one who did that to Eryn!" At this statement, Isabelle realized why the clothes looked so familiar. They seemed to be a more mature, male version of the outfit that she'd noticed on Eryn on that day they'd met on the street, wings and all. Was this man a friend of the girl's then? What had happened to Eryn to make him seem so serious though? "You're the one who took her away from me…! You're the one who killed her!" the man shrieked, pulling out a pistol to point it at her.

_What? Killed…? She's… dead?_ Isabelle's mind was in a whirl, allowing her to let out only a silent cry before a gunshot resonated.

* * *

_What was that…?_ James thought as a loud crack sounded from the direction of the park. Grabbing the bottles a waiter handed to him and slapping several bronze coins onto the table, quickly muttering "keep the change", he rushed back to Isabelle, hoping that nothing had happened. When he saw what was waiting for him there though, he halted, feeling the bottles slip from his fingers only a second before he heard one of them clink off a small loop of metal at his feet.

She laid there, her eyes closed as blood seeped from a wound in her chest. Regaining himself, he rushed to her hoping that by some miracle she was still alive. His heart dropped in his chest the moment he felt her limp body in his arms. She was gone.

Hugging her body to his as tears overflowed, he offered up a silent prayer as he kissed her bloodstained lips one last time.  _Devil… I've already given you my soul as an angel, now I offer you my human one as well. Take it, take anything you want from me! Just let Isabelle live!_ Yelling these words in his mind, wishing for nothing else than for them to be heard, he reached up and pulled the strip of leather out of his hair, letting it fall. There was no longer reason to hide his –  _her_  – identity.

He buried his face in her hair, not knowing what else to do. He knew he should probably tell someone, the authorities or something, but for now he just wanted to be alone in his grief. A couple times he thought he felt her move and hope would once again begin to bud, only to be crushed again when he realized that it had been nothing more than his imagination. Of course his prayer wouldn't be answered… What hope did he have of achieving a second miracle? He'd already gotten one when he'd thrown away the life he had to be with Isabelle.

"…James…?"

_What?_ Whipping his head up from her hair, he looked to Isabelle's face to find her eyes opened slightly. Had she really spoken? "Isa…belle…?" he muttered hesitantly, afraid that it really was just his imagination again.

"James…? Is that really you…?" She really was speaking!

"Yes! Yes, it's me! I'm right here with you! I promise I won't leave you again! You're going to be okay!" he proclaimed, smiling broadly, his tears now ones of happiness. She was alive!

"You're… Eryn…?"

He froze as he remembered having let his hair down. He'd planned to tell her at some point, but now yet. Not like this. "…Yes," he admitted, "I wanted to be able to be with you so… I did something unforgivable."

"Then those scars I felt on your back last night… Those were from your wings…? You really were an angel…?" she asked, to which he just nodded, "But… you're still  _you_ , right? You're still James, even if you're also Eryn?"

"Of course!"

"Thank goodness!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck now that she'd regained most of her strength. "I don't care if you're Eryn or James or an angel! All that matters is that you're still you!"

"…Thank you," he said, relieved that she had accepted him. Locking their gaze, their eyes both swimming in tears, he whispered once again, "I love you."

A blush colouring her face, she smiled before replying, "I-"

She never got a chance to finish her sentence. At that moment, there was a crashing sound and the next thing Isabelle knew, James was gone, nothing but a lone black feather to mark that he'd ever been there. "James…?"

His prayer had been answered. Isabelle had been revived, but it had been in exchange for James, leaving the woman with only the feather which she clutched tightly to her chest as she cried for her lost love. The two were separated, fated to only meet again once they'd forgotten each other and the fruit of sin had fallen into decay.

Until then…

 


End file.
